Houston College Classic 2015: Dates, Schedule, Teams and More

The 2015 Houston College Classic is right around the corner, and this year Baylor, LSU, Texas A&M, Hawaii, Nebraska and Houston will feature in the three-day tournament played at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. 

Below, you'll find everything you need to know heading into the tournament along with a preview of the teams involved.

Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup
Friday, March 6	1:05 p.m.	Baylor vs. Hawaii
Friday, March 6	4:35 p.m.	Nebraska vs. Texas A&M
Friday, March 6	8:05 p.m	Houston vs. LSU
Saturday, March 7	1:05 p.m.	Hawaii vs. Nebraska
Saturday, March 7	4:35 p.m.	LSU vs. Baylor
Saturday, March 7	8:05 p.m	Texas A&M vs. Houston
Sunday, March 8	12:05 p.m.	Nebraska vs. LSU
Sunday, March 8	3:35 p.m.	Baylor vs. Texas A&M
Sunday, March 8	7:05 p.m	Hawaii vs. Houston

Preview 

The top team in this tournament will be LSU, currently the No. 4 team in the country. The Tigers will be using the tournament as a measuring stick before the brutal SEC schedule gets underway.

"Our goal is to be at our very best once SEC play begins," head coach Paul Mainieri told Deke Bellavia of WWL.com on Tuesday. "Certainly we want to win each time we step out on the field. I think that we are in perfect position the final week before Southeastern Conference play starts."

Mark Laird and Alex Bregman lead a dangerous offense, while Jake Godfrey, Jared Poche and Alex Lange give LSU a dynamic starting trio. Add in Jesse Stallings closing games, and the Tigers are one of the most difficult teams in the country to score against.

And that's with Godfrey still rounding into form, per Jim Kleinpeter of NOLA.com:

The field is stacked, however. Houston is ranked No. 12 in the nation, Texas A&M is No. 14 and while Baylor recently dropped out of the Top 30 in the rankings, the Bears are still a dangerous squad. 

Houston's offense is led by the speedy Kyle Survance, along with Chris Iriart and Zac Taylor, while Andrew Lantrip has been nearly unhittable this season. Add in the hometown advantage, and Houston will be very difficult for teams at the Houston College Classic to beat.

Then there's Texas A&M. The Aggies have an excellent lineup, highlighted by Mitchell Nau, Logan Taylor and Ronnie Gideon, while A.J. Minter has been brilliant on the mound this season. Where LSU wins with its pitching, Texas A&M can really smack the ball around. It'll be tough to deal with. 

The moral of this story? Baylor, Nebraska and Hawaii may be a bit overmatched when they face the top three teams in action. Nonetheless, the tournament promises to provide exciting, intense action and will be a great test for these teams before they hit conference play.